Ten on Tuesday

1. What did you get for Christmas?
I got lots of great stuff!  Most notably a gift certificate for a hair cut, a new pot and a Cricket cutting machine.

2. Have you taken down your Christmas decorations?
All but the tree and the outside lights.

3. What did you do for New Years Eve?
Not much.  James and I watched Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 then had some champagne and watched the ball drop.  It was nice though.

4. Do you like accents?
I do except when James uses them in store on strangers because he thinks it's funny.

5. What kind of television do you have?
The one in the living room is a Sony Vizio. The rest of the TVs I have no clue.  I only know that one because I'm sitting in front of it.

6. Did you make any changes at the beginning of 2012?
Sort of.  I decided I was going to try and be more proactive with my Etsy business this year.  And I'm off to a good start ....  stay tuned!

7. What’s the last book you read and do you recommend it?
I think it was Mocking Jay the last book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.  I loved them so much that I've had a hard time picking up a new book and getting into it.  But I am in the middle of My Booky Wook by Russel Brand and it's just started to get good!
Oh and yes I would totally recommend Mocking Jay and all the Hunger Game books!  They are really, really good!

8. Do you stay current on celebrity gossip?
No,  I used to but I stopped getting Us magazine so I lost my easy access to celebrity gossip.

9. Do you know the words to Bohemian Rhapsody? Gangstas Paradise? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
I know all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and could sing them on command without the song playing.  I could sing Gangstas Paradise if the song was on meaning I know it but not that well.

10. What is your favorite education television show?
If we are talking kids educational TV shows then it would be Sesame Street.  I grew up watching it and it's not annoying like a lot of the other kids TV shows I am forced to watch.

Procrastinator Edition of Ten on Tuesday Vol. 3

I know you are shocked I am late yet again on Ten on Tuesday.....  I suck.  I've had a mountain of paper work to finish for the end of summer semester at work.  But I finally got it all done and turned in this morning so now I have some free time.

1. What colour are your toenails painted?
OPI Brisbane Bronze. 

2. What colour are your fingernails painted?
Nothing.  I don't paint my nails often at all.  I find I am way to hard on my nails and nail polish chips and or peels off in about 2 days, which drives me crazy.  Plus with all the origami folding I tend to put dents in my nails from all the folding so it's not worth putting on nail polish.

3. What is your favourite brand of nail polish?
OPI or Sally Hansen.  OPI is the best but not cheap so I tend to go with Sally Hansen when I want to try a new color or style.

4. As the norm, do you DIY your nails or get mani/pedis?
DIY.  I tend to get a mani and pedi once or twice a year when my husband gives them to me for gifts.  Before I had kids I would go once a month for manis and about every 2-3 for pedis and man do I miss going that often.

5. Have you ever had a gel mani? Do you recommend it?
I never have but a friend of mine has and she loved it and thought it lasted a lot longer than a normal mani.

6. What is the last movie you watched on television? (TV, Netflix, Redbox, etc.)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1.  I watched it in preparation for going to the theater for part 2.

7. What is the last movie you watched in the cinema?
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. I was one of those crazy people who went at midnight opening day.  At least I did not dress up but it was fun to see people dressed up and to see the movie in a large audience like that.

8. Is there a movie that everyone talks about as if it is a classic but you haven’t seen?
OK don't think badly of me but I have never seen any of the Godfather movies.  I have no interest.

9. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
I LOVE, LOVE  movie soundtracks! A few of my favorite are True Romance, Practical Magic, The Commitments, Grease,  Ten Things I Hate About You, 50 First Dates, and Say Anything.

10. Have you ever seen a movie and thought it was better than the book it was based on?
Where the Heart is.  Don't get me wrong I liked the book a lot.  But I saw the movie first and there is just something about the movie that I loved more than the book.  Maybe that's because I saw the movie first instead of reading the book first.  Which is unusual, I usually read the book first.

Ten on Tuesday

I love, love, LOVE the questions this week!!!

1. When someone asks you for a book recommendation, what is your go-to book?
Honestly it's Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.  It's a heavy book full of history and religion but I could not put it down!!  It's all about fundamentalist Mormon sects and their history and why they are like they are today.  It's downright fascinating!!!  Plus I am sort of obsessed with FLDS to begin with.

2.  Do you buy your books, or are you a library patron?
I buy or trade for my books.  Now that I have a Kindle I am buy most of my books for it (but I use Swagbuck rewards {wanna sign up for Swagbucks it's great!! just go here http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/katiemommy} to get Amazon gift cards).  But still somethings are not available in ebook format and sometimes I just like to have a hard copy.  So my first stop is Paperback Swap to see if the book I want is available there first (you just use credits you have earned sending out books you no longer want), if it's not then I will buy it from a book store or used book store.  I just don't go to library because I can NEVER get stuff back on time (I am the same way with movies).

3.  E-readers, yay or nay?
YES!!  I LOVE my Kindle to pieces.  I also have an iPad and tried using it as an e-reader but the back light gave me the worst headaches.

4.  What was your favorite book as a child?
I loved to read as a child and I still do. I remember loving One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey because of the illustrations.  As a pre-teen/teenager I loved A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle but I loved all her books period.

5.  If you could be any character in a book, who would you be?
Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter books.  She is smart, an excellent and talented witch and lives in the wizzarding world!! What could be better!?!?

6.  What book would you love to see turned into a movie?
I was just thinking last night that the book I am reading right now (Night Road by Kristin Hannah) would be a good movie.

7.  What is your all-time favorite book?
Too hard to choose.  I have so many that I love.  The Laura Ingalls Wilder books (Little House on the Prairie books) are great and I loved them as a child and again as an adult.  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is also a childhood and adult favorite.  The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites too.  Oh and The Bean Trees and Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver.  Oooo the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris are some of my favorites too!!  See I really could keep going and going. 

8.  How many books do you read at once?
Usually only one but I have been known to have 2 going at once.  I can't read more than 2 at a time though, it gets too confusing.

9.  What is your favorite book genre?
I typically read fiction but I love to branch out and will read just about anything and have a slight preference for historical fiction or science fiction but I also really like biographies or autobiographies.

10.  Which Harry Potter book is the best?  Or haven’t you read them at all?
I have each and every one at least twice, some I have read a dozen or so times (I read them to my classes when I was teaching and to Noa).  But I think my favorite is The Prisoner of Azkaban or Half Blood Prince.

Ten on Tuesday

1.  If you could travel back in time, would you?  What decade would you visit?
Of course I would! Are you kidding if I had a shot at time travel I would do it in a second.  Now where in time would I go.  That's a hard one.  First decade off the top of my head is the 50's because of the music and the fashion.

2. What was your best Halloween costume?  (fun to make? most creative?)
Well as a child one of my most favorites was a princess costume my mom made.  It was actually a flower girl dress for my mom's cousin's wedding I was in but she also made a pointy princess hat out of the same fabric for Halloween.  I LOVED that dress!  A few years ago I had to come up with a costume quick and I came up with Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. 

It was all made with stuff from my house.  I used  an old graduation robe and I found a piece of jewelery that kind of looked like the time turner.  I printed out the Griffendor crest and pined it to the robe and teased my hair (it's long and brownish like hers).  We even happened to have a Harry wand my son used for dress up.  So not a bad costume for stuff around the house!

3. Do you like your name?  If you weren’t called by your name, what would you want to be called?
I like my name.  I went through a period in 5th or 6th grade when I hated my name and wanted to be named Lisa Ramsey.  Don't ask me why I just thought that was a great name.  But now I love my name.  My full name is Katherine and there aren't a whole lot of Katherines around (spelled the right way too).  Plus I like it because I go by Katie too.  But don't ever call me Kat or Kath or any other shorted variation other than Katie.

4. In the past year, what is the BEST recipe you made.  Please share it!
Not sure when I first made this recipe but it's a fairly recent addition to my favorites.  Everyone in my family loves it even the kids and it's easy to make.  It's pretty healthy too.

Barley, black bean and corn burritos

Ingredients

    15    oz    Beans, Black -- 15 oz. rinsed and drained
    10    oz    Tomatoes W/Green Chilies, Canned -- 10 oz. undrained
    1    cup    Barley (quick cook kind)
    2     cups    Vegetable Broth
    3/4    cup    Corn, Frozen
    2    oz    Scallions -- 1/4 cup chopped
    1    tbsp    Lime Juice -- fresh
    1    tsp    Cumin  
    1    tsp    Chili Powder
    10    oz    Chicken -- cooked (optional)
    1    clove    Garlic -- minced
    1/4    cup    Cilantro -- chopped (optional topping)
    8    oz    Cheese, Cheddar -- shredded (optional topping)
    4    oz    Salsa -- (optional topping)
    1    head    Lettuce, Butterhead -- (optional topping)
    4    oz    Sour Cream, Fat Free -- (optional topping)
           

Instructions

Put first 11 ingredients into pot, stir and cook according to the barley directions  When mixture is done fill tortillas with desired amount then add cilantro, sour cream, cheese and or salsa.


Exported from A Cook's Books -- Recipe management for Macintosh

5. Look around – what is the nearest object or picture hanging on the wall?
The nearest object is my Tivo remote.  The nearest picture is a print of one of Henri Matisse's cut outs called Nuit de Noel.

 
6. What was the last movie you saw in a theater?  Would you recommend it?
I took my son to see How to Train your Dragon last Friday with a friend and her kids.  It was a great movie!  I wasn't expecting much because kids movies are not always entertaining for adults.  But this one was funny and visually amazing and even made me get a little teary.


7. Did you go to summer camp?  Will you/do you send your kids to camp?
I did go to summer camp.  I was raised by a single mother who had to work so my brother and I were always at some summer camp every summer.  We mostly did local day camps but we also did a sleep away camp once.  It was a good experience and I will most likely send my kids to camp too at some point.  But hopefully we won't have to send them all the time we had to.

8. What kind of ringtone do you have?
Well since I refuse to pay for ringtones I am using what ever ringtone on my phone I like.  But I have a different ringtone for different people so I know who is calling before I look at the phone.

9. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever been?
The farthest east I have been is Salzburg, Austria and the farthest west I have been is Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati.

10. Has anyone ever written a song or a poem for or about you?
Yes my first boyfriend Tracy wrote me a poem while I was in Colorado visiting family.  It was very sweet.  I also had a boyfriend draw a picture of me which was nice too.